Home Depot install H0103-197-1200 Trendy Threads 1-Classy Texture Gray carpet. $1,457.64 6/17/21 So four years old and caked in mud, dog dug hole in at bedroom door. When the couple split, the one that left came back and brought her mother to try to clean the place. Due to our age and wanting them to as much as they could, we agreed to a one week, extended to 2 week continuance. So back to court tomorrow to give Judge the damages. Pretty sure it can't be salvaged but I'm willing to give Stanley Steemer a chance and repair the damaged area, they still have the same carpet but it is a lot more expensive.

PAT (VA): First off, I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

Prorating is usually the way it is depreciated. Many a carpet has lasted much longer. But this sounds like use and abuse rather than normal wear and tear. Be prepared that a judge may stick to prorating, but ask for more with pictures, an actual piece of the abused carpet to compare to how it was given "new" along with your receipt, and what today's price to replace the carpet or one of the same quality.

Please follow up: let us know how everything turned out...and we want details.

I would not use the old value of the carpet and subtract the normal wear and tear period out of it. You will probably need a new install. So if that price is say $3,000, I would charge them 60% of that as I treat flooring so it will last roughly 10 years and paint for 5 years.

Before charging that though, getting them steam cleaned is in order.

Since getting pictures has been a problem, they still had possession, I like Oreo's suggestion of cutting out the damaged piece and using it for evidence today. They said they'd be gone today. So we can stop by and get it on the way.

48 months of rent divided into cost of carpet = $30.36 month. Rent was 675.00 a month.

I did the math on sheet vinyl and for LR, hall & 3 bdrms it will be 859.28 material. My handyman and his son together is 50.00 an hour to lay it down but if I get store to cut it that will speed things up.

If I have to take pictures on the way, I'd have to go by library to see if I can get them printed off as it's 20 miles from where I live in the next county.

I called my attorney out for stating that the carpet needed to be depreciated. I told him, and the judge that we lived in our last house for 22 years and had the same carpet that was there when we moved in. (exception with the LR)

Junk carpet will last a couple years, good stuff lasts a lot longer when maintained.

Holes in the carpet are not normal usage and I die on that hill.

Same when someone says that I must paint between tenants. Paint should last a while. Normal cleaning is all that is needed. If I have to repaint after two years they did something wrong.

Good luck matching four year old carpet with a patch. Dye lots alone will ruin that idea. Then there is normal wear as well as sunlight and cleaners.

One reason you might have to figure pro-ration is the tax angle. I know Sid always said proration is just a tax category, that carpet should last 20 years if properly cared for. I always agree with him until I really thought about it:

When you had that carpet installed in the rental, what did you deduct and how did you deduct it? You likely prorated it on some accelerated schedule - instead of 20 years as stated on the back of the carpet, you prorated it over 5 or 7 as is common for rental property.

A judge that is paying attention might know that. Zero's argument is good, but he is not deducting his personal carpet on his taxes (I hope anyway.) Pat/VA did or is.

So if she paid $15,000 for the carpet, and depreciated it over 5 years at $3k per year...

Great argument KEN.

Last night when commenting on this post, I started to commend ROBT (ONTARIO) for bomb proofing his rentals. We make out well with real estate; if I had thought like ROBT ONTARIO from the get go we would have been doing even better. Instead, we spent money on high quality carpet, carpet like what we would put in our home, one of which we've taken care of and still have after 40 years.

We had perfect carpet in one unit where the tenants spilled a large amount of red wine in an area not possible to hide with a rug. The mother used the "how old is this carpet". If I had Ken's argument back then, that would have shut her up. Although the judges here would likely not allowed anything other than how the IRS does it.

Again, we're rooting for you PAT!

WMH, I only used my personal carpet to get the point across that it can last a long time, even with kids and pets.

My guess is that I expense the carpet as it is used. I do not have many thousands of dollars in the carpet for the rentals. Maybe for flips, but that is another beast.